A rock at a hornet’s nest…
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
My friend Steve Brown is not the most subtle guy you will ever meet. If I were to write an S.A.T. question about Steve this is how it would go: Steve Brown is to legalism what a child hopped up on cake and ice cream is to an pinata. I love this guy. Check out his website and PLEASE subscribe to his podcast!
These are quotes from Steve’s book, Scandalous Freedom (here goes the pinata!):
‘What God does or does not do in your life rarely has anything to do with how good you are.’
‘The greatest cause for our not getting better is our obsession with not getting better.’
‘Sanctification becomes a reality in those believers who don’t obsess over their own Sanctification. Holiness hardly ever becomes a reality until we care more about Jesus than about holiness.’
‘Now let me give you my confession: I’m about as good as I’m going to get, and I’m tired of trying. While the fact that I’m not going to get much better has disappointed some, I’m a lot easier to live with.’
‘There is hardly anything that will beat you down and rob you of your freedom more than your efforts to get better - or, at least, the effort to get better in the wrong way.’
‘You may be thinking that I care nothing for the law of God, for his plan for me, and for my own sanctification. But stay with me. I have some surprising information to share with you.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a Christian man or woman who didn’t want to be better than he or she was. They were just gong about it the wrong way…. trying really hard to be better.’
‘I’m part of Christ’s visible church - but sometimes, church looks more like a prison than it does a gateway to freedom. Religion can make people mean, angry, gloomy, critical, judgmental, and neurotic.’
‘But if the Christian faith is about being nicer, it becomes moralism; and in that case, Buddhism will probably be of more help than biblical Christianity.’
‘I believe that, from an existential viewpoint, one of the greatest sin Christians can commit is a constant focus on their sin. It is a far more prideful and arrogant exercise than almost anything you can do.’‘In recent days God has allowed me to see that I want to be alone, because when I’m with other people, I try to fix them; or if they really get to know me, I will have them fix me.’
and all God’s people (or at least some of them) groaned and said, “Amen!”
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Recommended Reading
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“Jesus + Nothing = Everything will remind you of the ancient yet ever-fresh truth that everything we need is found in the perfections of Christ—not in ourselves, not in our reputation, our relationships or wealth or accomplishments—in Christ alone. If you’ve never rested in the finished work of Christ this book is for you. If you’ve rested in it for decades like I have, this book is for you, too. Why? Because we forget; And, although we love Jesus, we’re blind to the ways in which his work connects to our daily lives and we wonder why joy and zeal are foreign concepts to us.” -Elyse Fitzpatrick
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Get ready to be bothered by the Gospel. Steve Brown teaches grace in a way that gets under your skin—- Reading Brown is like having a gospel hair in your mouth of your conscience. The more it bothers you the more beautiful the pearl produced will be
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From the publisher: “It is a deep and rich biblical study of sanctification - how Christians grow in holiness and become more like Jesus. In a day when Christians are very prone to pursue self-help methods to grow in obedience to Christ, Walter Marshall lays out the biblical way of growth: obedience comes as Christians live by grace, in union with Christ, by faith.” This book influenced me PROFOUNDLY on the topic of sanctification. The Modern-English re-write makes this a TOP PICK for 2011!
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I ‘accidentally’ picked up this book simply for the title alone. I grew to hate it quickly. It hit a little ‘too close to home.’ Fischer’s book plunges the scalpel of self-awareness and need for deep repentance deep into the hard hearts of Pharisees like ME!
Recommended Listening
- Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Ricky JonesRicky Jones is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a trophy of grace. If you want to listen to bold preaching by a man who knows his sin, knows his weaknesses and trusts only Jesus to take what he says and use it to God’s glory then you are heading in the right direction. The preaching is bold, the preacher is humble and you will be blessed.
- Key Life Ministries
Steve BrownSteve Brown is not the most subtle guy you will ever meet. If I were to write an S.A.T. question about Steve this is how it would go: Steve Brown is to legalism what a child hopped-up on cake and ice cream is to an pinata! I love this guy. Check out his website and fair warning: you are not heading to a ‘SAFE’ little Christian site!
- Coral Ridge Presbyterian
Tullian TchividjianAs one comment on iTunes said: “Tullian preaches the Gospel in an unadulterated and undomesitcated way…The way it should be preached!”
Recommended Links
- Mockingbird Blog
David ZahlMockingbird is a ministry that seeks to connect the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in as fresh and down-to-earth a way possible.
- White Horse Inn
MIchael HortonWhite Horse Inn is a multimedia catalyst for reformation. We believe that each generation must rediscover and apply the gospel to their own time. We long to see a second reformation take hold of our churches and return them to the God-honoring, Christ-centered, Spirit-wrought places of worship they should be.
- On Earth as it is in Heaven
Tullian TchividjianWilliam Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is a Florida native, the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham.
- Heavenward
Scotty SmithSmith is the founding Pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN, avid writer, prolific blogger and tweeter. His nuggets of Gospel wisdom are seasoned by years of service to the Bride. He is gentle and very purposed in his every comment.
Comments
Anonymous | August 23 2011 at 10:57 am
Yes
Puzzled | August 28 2011 at 8:03 am
Jean,
I appreciate the freedom that Steve enjoys, and I think I “get” what he’s saying. I enjoy the same freedom. But statements like these bear some working out (I think) when placed along side the Scriptures which appear to say the opposite.
Just one example:
Steve Brown: “What God does or does not do in your life rarely has anything to do with how good you are.”
Eph 6:2-3: “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
Prov 14:34: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Here the Scriptures seem to suggest (ok, they actually say explicitly) that what God does in your life has very much to do with how good you are. And we’re not talking about God’s act of justification, so I’m not asking for someone to agree or explain that God’s verdict of justification is based on our personal holiness. It isn’t. But Steve’s comment alone would have me believe that the first commandment to come with a promise was just window dressing, and that righteousness rarely has anything to do with whether a nation is exalted.
Obviously we don’t dismiss the verses. But Steve Brown is probably on to something, and I’m not dismissing him, either. So how do we reconcile what he says with what the Bible teaches?
Sign me,
Puzzled but not confused.